Summer League: Day 2 & 3

Sorry this is so late. The Warriors were off today. They did practice and had team meetings.

* Morrow practiced and is expected to play tomorrow. The plan is for him to play these last three summer league games, then take part in Tim Grgurich’s camp here in Vegas. That should give him ample 5-on-5 action, management figures

* Curry practiced. His ankle didn’t appear to be bothering him. After practice, he went to a TV station in Las Vegas and pulled off three TV interviews: channel 5, channel 7 and Comcast. I wonder how the vets are going to handle Curry Mania when the season begins.

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* Jared Jordan, the point guard out of Marist, is no longer on the Warriors summer league squad. He left the team, likely to pursue another opportunity. Common summer league musical chairs. That bodes well for Acie Law.

Day 2

* Steph Curry is quite the crowd favorite out here. There was actually a small ovation when he checked back into the game after he left three minutes early with a sprained left ankle.
By the way, the ankle is not serious, but I think it is serious enough that he may not be 100 percent during this summer league. He is already not the most athletic, and you can tell he still needs to get into NBA shape. So this ankle, which had him extremely frustrated as he limped off the court because he tweaked it again, only adds to the disadvantage. It was most evident on that last play of regulation – his airball fade-away jumper.
But that fact made Saturday’s performance impressive. His shot still has been off. He missed a lot of gimmies. But he found a way to impact the game, and he made some big plays. I think it’s a good sign that he can be productive despite adversity.

Marcus Thompson

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What are your impressions of Acie Law? So far, I would rather have CJ Watson running my club. As good a distributor, better shooter and a equal defender.

As for “Curry Mania” he just needs to whip some butt in practice to win the vets over. Remember “Jack” loved Morrow once he realized he could play and how humble Morrow was.

The Curry media campaign is ON!

robo

Trade Acie Law and Corey Maggette for Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Cleveland gets a 6th man in Maggette and a backup point in Law; Warriors get a F/C with an expiring contract in 2010. With Z’s expiring contract and Speedy Claxton’s in 2010, the Warriors can go after Chris Bosh.

I like Acie Law. He seems better than what I thought. A good passer. Under control. Sees the floor. I wonder if he can score like the Warriors usually want from their point guard. If he can’t, he’ll be a spot-up shooter while someone else creates. I haven’t seen his outside shot in person yet.

Oh, and you are forgetting about a particular veteran who hasn’t openly embraced anyone yet.

Harp’s Dubs

@Robo – Cavs need Big Z to back up Shaq this year. Both come off the books in 2010 when they’ll make a run at Bosh, who’s way more likely to pair up there with LeBron than come here to the Bay. Nice thoughts, but no chance it happens. You want flexibility in 2010?
Trade Maggette, Jackson and Claxton to Houston for McGrady.

Marcus Thompson

Robo,

Expiring contracts are valuable. I doubt if Cleveland cashes it in for Maggette and his contract. They will get better offers. They are trying to re-sign LeBron, which they will only be able to do if they bring in some help (Chris Bosh). They won’t be taking on $40-plus million.
The likelihood, however, is that they won’t move Z and let him come off the cap next year.

Harp’s Dubs

Marcus, any chance of the Warriors signing Drew Gooden?

robo

4. Harp’s Dubs,

I really like that trade – Maggette, Jackson and Claxton to Houston for McGrady, but I think Houston’s in a holding pattern until they know the fate of Yao Ming. Secondly, I just hate to see Warriors players being traded within the conference; that’s just asking for trouble.

As for the Cavs, I don’t know if Cleveland needs Big Z more than they need to put points on the board whenever LeBron sits. Maggette can put points on the board as their 6th man and can get the Cavs to the free throw line. Last year, Cleveland went through the playoffs with Z and Varejao and they did pretty well. However, now that Shaq is in Cleveland, Z’s role is really diminished. If Cleveland trades Z for Maggette, they can still find a suitable F/C backup in the remaining free agents that are still out there i.e. Jermaine O’Neal, Jarron Collins, Sean Marks etc. And I think any of those players would happily sign a 1 year contract to get a ring and later join the free agent class in 2010.

As for Cleveland making a run at Bosh, I think it would behoove the Cavs to first make sure that they still have LeBron in 2010. And that means, they need to win it all this year; anything less and I think LeBron is definitely off to New York/New Jersey. Even if the Cavs win a championship, the amount of endorsements that LeBron and any free agent who joins him in the New York area will far exceed what they would make in Cleveland. So, Big Z’s expiring contract has more value now than in 2010, because Cleveland will have increased their chances of winning it all in 2009 and possibly keeping LeBron. And, if Bosh heads to New York or Cleveland to be with LeBron, that would be fine by me. There’s another 2010 free agent that I’d like to see in a Warriors uniform:

I think Cleveland’s only true chance to re-sign LeBron is and only if LeBron wants to stay in Cleveland.

In 2010, LeBron and any key free agent who joins him can build a dynasty in New York or New Jersey; building a team from scratch, maybe taking less money in an NBA contract only to make up for any perceived loss of revenue in huge endorsement deals.

I can see LeBron, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Amare Stoudemire and Shaq all headed to the Knicks in 2010. So, why would Danny Ferry hang onto Zadrunas Ilgauskas in the hopes of obtaining Chris Bosch in 2010 and keeping Lebron, if LeBron quite possibly has no intention of staying in Cleveland? If you were LeBron, would you stay in Cleveland if you had the chance to make over a billion dollars in endorsements in 1-3 years by simply heading to New York? If you were Danny Ferry, wouldn’t you at least make any deal that helps you to at least win a ring in 2009?

robo

Marcus,

Would you trade Zadrunas Ilgauskas for Corey Maggette and Brandon Wright?

OREGONGUY

Holy Smokes MT! That 2010 roster makes my eyes bug out!

Blake

Robo, I’m not sure which planet you’re living on, but Maggette, Jackson, and Claxton for McGrady would be a horrendous trade for the Warriors on the court. It would be nice to dump Maggs and Jack’s contracts, there’s no way the Rockets would take on two 10 mil contracts for wing players.

Lebron is a global icon, he doesn’t need New York to get huge endorsements. The change would be very minimal. Plus, the Knicks are still in a cap mess, so the five players you suggested that might all join the Knicks is just not possible. Maybe one of the big stars and some other starters or role players. But two or three stars are not going to go to the Knicks.

As far as Maggs for Z, I like it as a Warrior fan and I think the Cavs would be interested as well. They need to score points, and Maggs does that as efficiently as anybody. Z would be a nice back-up center for us, or could be started alongside Bieds or Turiaf in a big line-up. Nelly love bigs that can shoot.

And then there’s your Dirk proposal. How do we have the money to give Dirk the max contract that he will command. We would have to move one of our big contracts (Jackson, Ellis, Bieds, Maggette) to make that happen. Plus, we all know Cuban is going to do everything he can to keep him. He retires a Mav.